Cycling
Subhash Madireddy
Most of the Indian cities are suffering from problems of severe air
pollution and traffic congestion. The urban population is growing at a
much higher rate than manageable due to changing economy and
aspiration of people.
Thanks to improving purchasing power of citizens and technological
developments, motor vehicle prices have come down in real terms.
Unfortunately this had lead to problems of severe air pollution and traffic
congestion in the cities. For instance in Bangalore during peak time average speed of
traffic is less than 10 KMPH. Growing level of poisonous gases like Carbon Monoxide
and Nitrous Oxide is degrading the quality of life in the garden city.
Promoting cycling and providing good public transportation can solve most of these
problems. This report looks at the benefits of cycling and how biking culture can be
promoted.
Benefits of cycling
Health Benefits:
Most of the city dwellers are suffering from obesity due sedentary life style. Commuting
to work by cycle can provide the physical exercise needed to keep one fit.
Some amount of physical exhaustion is very much necessary to maintain sound mental
health. Research shows that sedentary life style increases the risk of mental depression.
Benefits to Community:
Vehicular pollution is considered to be the most significant sources of urban pollution.
Most of the car trips are found to be less than 4 KMs in many Indian cities. If these cars
trips are substituted by bicycle it can significantly improve the air quality in the cities.
Cycling can also prevent the problem of traffic congestion and improve the quality of city
life. In addition, it has very few parking problems. Ironically bicycle can make the
journey quicker in crowded cities due to the ease of parking. Apart from cost advantages
it is also environmental-friendly. My personal experience in Bangalore shows that
cycling can be much faster than traveling by car during peak traffic time.
Why Cycling Culture is going down?
1. Many people perceive cycle as poor man’s vehicle. So they avoid cycling due to
prestige issues.
2. Perception of time saving
3. Growing culture of laziness
4. Many people perceive that cycling on Indian roads is not safe
5. Affordability of motor bikes due to increasing disposable incomes and easy
availability of financing facilities.
Ways to promote biking culture
Marketing Efforts
1. Organize cycle rallies regularly in cities. Get media coverage of them through
participation of celebrities like cricketers, movie stars and ministers etc… Cycling
should be seen as a symbol of youth and energy rather than poverty.
2. Distribute T-shirts with slogans like “Cycle For Health” to promote cycling
among corporate employees and college pass outs.
3. Posters in Notice boards of companies and hoardings near traffic signals saying
how cycling could have prevented their waiting at that signal for so much time.
Design Changes
Several design innovation occurred recently in cycle designs. There are bikes with
batteries that get charge when the cycle is moving down hill and releases that energy
when moving uphill. Gear cycles can make cycling easier and enjoyable. With a good
dynamo it is possible to have feature like mobile charging on cycle. However all
these systems are not robust enough. Users get frustrated due to frequent maintenance
requirements. If design innovations can address these problems, it can help in
promoting biking culture. BSA recently launched a foldable cycle that can fit in a
bag. However it was priced at close to 8000/-. Government can consider giving
subsidies to such products due to huge positive externalities associated with them.
Changes in Roads
Separate lanes for cyclists should be provided on an experimental basis in a few cities
and see if that can encourage biking. Pavements can be designed in such a way that
cyclists can travel easily on them without troubling the pedestrians.